Skip to content 3/21/2025 Coverage Over President Trump's Department of Education Executive Order Mar 23 · 59 min ...more
3/21/2025 Coverage Over President Trump's Department of Education Executive Order
March 23, 2025 · 59 min
Dive into today's episode covering President Trump's executive order dismantling the Department of Education, his recent press conference, and homeschool parents' infringed rights in Illinois.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video March 23, 2025 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Dive into today's episode covering President Trump's executive order dismantling the Department of Education, his recent press conference, and homeschool parents' infringed rights in Illinois. ...more Show the full description Show less Dive into today's episode covering President Trump's executive order dismantling the Department of Education, his recent press conference, and homeschool parents' infringed rights in Illinois.
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Trump's Executive Order on Education 0:06 Good afternoon. I'm Victoria Marshall and welcome to the Washington Watch news desk.0:23 That was president Trump yesterday signing an executive order that dismantles the Department of Education. 1 executive order alone cannot get rid of the agency itself that would require an act of Congress.0:35 Trump's order directs the secretary of education to shut down unnecessary programs and give others to the states.0:42 We're going to be returning education very simply back to the states where it belongs. And this is a very popular thing to do, but much more importantly, it's a common sense thing to0:54 do, and it's gonna work. Absolutely, it's gonna work. And I can tell you from dealing with the governors and others in the state, they want it so badly. They wanna take their children back and really1:06 teach their children, individually. Probably the cost will be half and the education will be maybe many, many times better.1:17 Trump's rationale for shuttering the Department of Education is that despite spending millions of taxpayer dollars, the agency has done very little in helping American students succeed.1:27 After 45 years, the United States spends more money on education by far than any other country and spends likewise, by far, more money per pupil than any1:39 country and it's not even close. But yet, we rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success. Despite these breathtaking failures, the department's discretionary budget has exploded1:51 by 600 percent in a very short period of time and employs bureaucrats in buildings all over Washington, DC.1:59 For those of you worried about student loans or Pell grants, Trump did reiterate that those types of necessary programs, including resources for children with disabilities, will be preserved or moved to other2:11 agencies. Here's what he said this morning to reporters in the Oval Office.2:15 I've decided that the SBA, the Small Business Administration, headed by Kelly Loeffler, terrific person, will handle all of the student loan portfolio. We have a2:27 portfolio that's very large, lots of loans. And also, Bobby Kennedy, the health and human services, will be handling special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything2:39 else rather complex, but, that's gonna be headed by and handled by health and human services. So I think that'll work out very well. Those 2 elements will be taken out of the2:52 Department of Education. And2:53 And speaking of Trump, the 40 seventh president is urging the Supreme Court to curtail the power of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions against his administration's policies.Media and Political Dynamics 3:05 In a true social post written last night, Trump said, stop nationwide injunctions now before it is too late. If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic3:17 unprecedented situation immediately, our country is in very serious trouble. Now this comment comes as the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to stop the injunctions3:29 after 3 different federal judges temporarily blocked the president's birthright citizenship executive order. The order states that children born in the United States are citizens only3:41 if they have at least 1 parent who is a US citizen or legal permanent resident. And in some good news for the Trump administration, President Trump's tariffs are causing multiple companies to expand3:53 their manufacturing president presence in the United States and hire American workers. Johnson and Johnson just announced today that it will spend 55000000000 dollars in the United States4:04 over the next 4 years on manufacturing, research, and technology investments. The company will break ground today on a manufacturing Wilson, North Carolina. Other companies announcing massive4:16 investments also include a 500000000000 dollar announcement from Apple to expand manufacturing in the US and a 27000000000 dollar investment from Eli Lilly for drug manufacturing.4:28 Plus, automakers Honda and Toyota are planning to move car production from Mexico to the US. This is a big win for president Trump and a key goal of his trade war strategy. Those are today's4:40 headlines. I'm Victoria Marshall. We'll see you next week with Morse.4:52 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and5:03 newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heise.5:12 Well, good afternoon. I hope you have had a fantastic week. Hard to believe it's already Friday, but welcome to this Friday edition of Washington Watch. I am your Friday host, Jody Heise, senior vice president here at5:23 the Family Research Council and president of FRC Action. An honor to have you on board with, with us today. We've got a lot coming your way. Here are some of the highlights. The legacy media5:35 remains absolutely relentless in trying to pit the American people against the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. And an example of that was a meeting that5:47 took place today at the Pentagon. Well, the New York Times reported that Elon Musk was going there to discuss the US military's plan for any war that might break out with6:00 China. Of course, the Trump administration is calling that for what it is, fake news.6:05 We welcomed him today to the Pentagon to talk about those, to talk about efficiencies, to talk about innovations. It was a great informal conversation. The rest of that reporting was fake. There was no war plans. There6:17 was no Chinese war plans. There was no secret plans.6:22 Well, that was defense secretary Pete Hegseth. So why in the world does the legacy media continue to villainize Elon Musk? And is that simply fueling the target of6:33 Tesla owners and dealerships? Well, I'll be discussing this here in just a few moments when I'm joined by congressman Keith Self. And, of course, the government efficiency efforts of Elon Musk are6:45 just among the many Trump administration's actions that the left is opposed to. The other is what's happening with the Department of Education, which we covered pretty extensively yesterday. But I'm gonna be,6:57 discussing this further, about president Trump's executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, but I'm gonna do it today from a local perspective. School board president Sonja Shaw7:09 of California will join me a little later in the program for that discussion. And then we're gonna turn to Illinois, where in that state, there's an effort to empower the7:21 state board of education to impose more homeschool restrictions and even punish homeschooling parents who fail to comply with them, potentially resulting in7:32 jail time or having their children forcibly removed from the home.7:38 Not 1 single state in the nation, even highly regulated states like New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, make it automatic criminal class c misdemeanor, 30 days in prison if7:50 convicted, 500 dollar fine, criminal conviction, potential removal of children and placed in temporary foster care if you fail to file paperwork.8:00 That was Will Estrada with the Homeschool Legal Defense Association testifying, Wednesday, against this horrendous bill. By the way, the bill is h b 28 27, if you wanna8:12 follow it. David e Smith, who is the executive director for the Illinois Family Institute, will be joining me later in the program to discuss this absolutely dangerous bill. And then to close8:24 out the program and to close out the week, I'll be joined by David Clausen for our weekly biblical worldview segment to discuss some of the headlines of this week from a biblical perspective. So as8:36 usual, we've got a lot to cover today, a packed program. If you miss any of it, of course, our website is tony perkins dot com, where you can find not only this edition of Washington Watch, but,8:52 resources including a link to our newest petition. Folks, take note of this. FRC Action has a petition up right now. It's a petition9:04 to call on congress to repeal the FACE Act. Now as many of you are aware, the enforcement of this law has been overwhelmingly one-sided. In fact, about9:16 97 percent 97 percent of face act prosecutions have been against pro life Americans. So we're putting forth a petition9:28 to encourage congress to repeal this, and I encourage you to sign this petition as well. It will be going to congressional leadership. To sign the petition, simply text the word face, f a9:40 c e, to 6 7 7 4 2. Alright. Let's go now to our first topic for the day. As I mentioned coming into the program earlier today,9:51 entrepreneur, Elon Musk, met with Defense Department secretary Pete Headset at the Pentagon for discussion on efficiency and innovation. That's10:03 what they discussed. What did they not discuss? Well, they did not discuss the US military's plan for a war that might break out with China. Although that10:15 is a topic that the New York Times claimed would be discussed. And so with all the attacks against Musk and anything that he has his hands on, is the legacy10:27 media intentionally fueling opposition against Tesla and against SpaceX and against Elon Musk. We're here to discuss this and more as congressman10:38 Keith Self, who serves on 3 house committees including foreign affairs, as well as the committee on science based in technology. He represents the third congressional district of the10:50 great state of Texas. Congressman Self, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always an honor to have you, sir.10:57 Thank you, Jody. Great to be with you. I'm on a phone, so, I'm glad to be with you.11:03 Yes. I knew that we were having a a few challenges, but glad you're able to join us by phone. So let's start with this, congressman Self. Your your take on the reports like the 1 that I just described coming from the New11:15 York Times. Are are they literally fueling anti Musk sentiments?11:21 Absolutely. That was a malicious headline. It was picked up. It's put across. Yeah. There there's a lot fueling, chaos in America today. The judges, the New11:33 York Times, this is a very dangerous time, I think, and it is being fueled by the progressive left.11:42 Yeah. It's frightening. Here's the actual headlines. Let me just give it for those who are, not able to watch but listening right now. The headline said, Tesla attacks mark, excuse me, Tesla attacks11:54 mark troubling twist in political violence as Musk divides America. It sounds like Musk is the 1 to blame for all the attacks.12:06 How in the world is he dividing America?12:09 Well, he's not dividing America. It's all of the misinformation, the chaos sowing headlines, the judges that are are attacking, Trump's12:21 actions. All of this is intended to generate this chaos that they want. And we see it in the town halls. We see it in the progressive left, the Liberals burning Teslas12:33 now. Look. When conservatives disagree, they stop buying your product. When Liberals disagree, they burn something. Remember the summer of love? Several summers ago, they burned their own cities down. Now12:45 they're burning Tesla dealerships. They're keying Teslas. This is the rule of law breaking down because of this chaos. We I just applaud the attorney general, Bondi,12:57 for for reinstituting the rule of law. That's what we've got to do.13:04 Yeah. You know, you mentioned so many of the previous attacks, the burnings, the the violence, all that sort of stuff. And I recall my time there in in congress, particularly the last term that I served, the13:16 Democrats, although now they are largely silent on these Tesla attacks, there was a time that they came out condemning all violence regardless of13:28 ideology. But now there is even let's call it a hate map of sorts, but but it's displaying the names and the addresses, the contact information of some Tesla13:40 owners and dealerships, as well as members of the Trump administration. How in the world, congressman self, can anyone not speak out against this?13:51 Oh, well, because when they have the upper hand, they're the party of peace. They're the party of no violence. They're the party of tolerance. When they're, out of power, and they are certainly out of power today when we14:02 have the trifecta of the house, the senate, and the presidency, they're all about let's go burn something. It's very clear that is their playbook. It has been for for years, and that's what they're,14:14 instituting today. They're not in power. They don't like it. They wanna be back in power, and they're gonna use chaos to get there.14:23 Well, it's, amazing to to think that they could use chaos to reassert power. What what would it be like if they gained that power? If I can, congressman self, I'd like14:35 to shift gears on you. And, there are at least 2 wars that broke out during the Biden administration starting with the Russia Ukraine war. But in that regard, there have been some positive14:47 developments this this week. At least, I think most people look at them as positive developments. What's your assessment of what we've seen this week as it relates to Russia and Ukraine?14:58 Well, I certainly applaud the president's actions and attempts. I am look. I served 25 years in the military, 8 years in Europe in uniform. I have to tell you, I don't15:09 trust Putin at all. He is a stone cold killer. This is a man that that didn't just run the the intelligence branch of the of of Russia, Soviet Union at the15:21 time. He was an active KGB agent for 16 years. Don't forget that. Deception is a major part of the Russian ideology when it15:33 comes to foreigners for their, foreign relations. Don't trust that man. Reagan's trust but verify, don't trust him an inch.15:44 Yeah. Well said. 1 of the other wars, of course, is the is Israel and Hamas war, that continues to be a challenge and more news about that this week. But, I15:56 mean, obviously, the the the real problem here is Hamas. What else can Israel do but to resume fighting at this point?16:07 Well, I don't I I don't think there's anything they can do because they've been very patient to try to get the hostages back. And, you know, Hamas knows that the hostages are the last leverage they have. I don't think16:16 they'll give them up willingly. So Israel has now gone back to saying we are going to to take back land. We might even annex part of the Gaza Strip if you do not return our hostages. And returning the hostages I16:28 was in Israel, what, 3, 4 weeks ago. And that is the number 1 issue. It is the only issue to Israeli citizens. Get the hostages back. So if nothing will work, if negotiations won't work, if stage 116:40 didn't work, then Israel felt that they must go back to force to force Hamas to give their hostages back. So I I don't think they've got another option, Jody. They have got to16:52 do what they can to get those hostages back because that is the national issue in Israel today.16:59 Yeah. I still scratch my head over why in the world is there not more international17:18 violent barbaric aggressors seem to get a pass?17:22 Because you have to go no further than the UN. There have been, like, a hundred and 29 resolutions against Israel, and it's like double all the rest of the resolutions against the17:34 the rest of the world. The UN, is anti Semitic. Most of the organ international organizations are anti Semitic. It's just a fact of life, Jody. It's something that they have to contend17:46 with.17:49 So where do you see this going in about 30 seconds? What what's going to happen? Your your prediction, I I guess, I'd ask for relating to Israel.17:58 Well, I think they're gonna have to go back into Gaza, and they're gonna have to finish the job because they didn't finish the job because of the hostages. But, I will tell you in when I was in Israel, they knew that it18:09 was not a matter of if, but it was a matter of when they would go back to Gaza. I think we need to stand by for more, more conflict in Gaza, and I think Israel will finish the job.18:21 Well, as always, thank you so much, congressman Keith Self of Texas. Love your leadership, and, thank you as always for coming on Washington Watch. Hope you have a great weekend.18:31 Thank you, Jody. You too.Local Perspectives on Education Reform 18:33 Alright, friends. Coming up, we're going to turn our attention back to president Trump's executive order on the Department of Education assessing it this time from a more local perspective. School board president Sonia18:45 Shaw will join me right after the break. So stay tuned. We'll be back.18:52 At Family Research Council, we believe religious freedom is a fundamental human right that all governments must protect. That's why FRC president Tony Perkins went to Capitol Hill to19:04 testify on behalf of persecuted Christians in Nigeria. Islamist terror groups target Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria with brutal violence. Representative19:16 Chris Smith, who chaired the hearing, said 55000 people have been killed and 21000 abducted in the last 5 years alone. The congressman also stressed that19:27 89 percent of Christians in the world who are martyred are from Nigeria.19:32 Yet the government of Nigeria has failed to make progress against religiously motivated persecution of Christians despite religious freedom being enshrined as an essential human right in their constitution.19:44 Tony Perkins called for the United States to send an unmistakable message.19:49 This is systematic religious violence. Nigeria must be redesignated a country of particular concern. Biden administration's removal of this designation was a reckless mistake20:01 that emboldened the very terrorists who are slaughtering Christians.20:04 Redesignating Nigeria will enable the US government to pressure Nigerian leaders to protect vulnerable Christians.20:12 These are not just numbers. These are fathers, their mothers, their children, their families.20:19 Bishop Wilfred Anagabe risked his life to speak out, sharing firsthand accounts of the danger faced in his church district in Central Nigeria.20:29 We live in fear because at any point, it can be our turn to be killed, but to remain silent is to die twice. So I have chosen to speak.20:38 FRC is calling on President Trump to act now to promote religious freedom around the globe and speak up on behalf of Christians in Nigeria.20:53 Download the new Stand Firm app for Apple and Android phones today and join a wonderful community of fellow believers. We've created a special place for you to access news from a biblical perspective, read21:05 and listen to daily devotionals, pray for current events, and more. Share the Stand Firm app with your friends, family, and church members, and stand firm everywhere you go.21:21 Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to the Washington stand, your ultimate destination for informed faith centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines,21:33 delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at the Washington stand,21:45 where faith and facts meet every day.21:54 Good afternoon. Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm your Friday host, Jody Heise. Thank you for joining us today. Okay. As we reported yesterday, president Trump's executive order22:07 dismantling the Department of Education is now in effect. Specifically, the order tells education secretary Linda McMahon to dismantle the department to the maximum extent22:18 appropriate and permitted by law. That's a huge statement. In addition, the secretary must work to return authority over education back to the states and to22:30 local communities. As you can imagine, the left is up in arms over this executive order. Obviously, they want bigger government, not smaller. But we've seen how education has22:42 fared by investing in Washington DC. So the question is, how might it fare if we were to invest more closely to home? Well, here to go over the potential impacts of this22:54 order is Sonia Shaw. She's the president of the Board of Education at the Chino Valley United School District in California. Sonia, welcome back to Washington Watch. Always great to have you.23:06 Great to be here, Jody. Thanks for having me. I love you guys, and it's such an honor.23:11 Well, likewise. Listen. First and foremost, let me just ask you this. What are your thoughts on this presidential action to dismantle the Department of Education?23:22 Jody, I think it's a step in the right direction because let's be real. When this was put in place, this department was put in place, it was pretty much a giveaway from Carter to the unions. And since then, the23:32 department of ed has not closed 1 1, achievement gap. I mean, look. Kids are still failing at reading, writing, and math. And ever since this department was put in place, it just funnels money through to the23:44 special interest groups, which does not benefit our children. Now if you get back to local control, let's be real. In states like California, that could be kind of nerve wracking for a lot of us here fighting the good23:56 fight. But I will say with president Trump, I don't think he's gonna do something recklessly. I have hope that he is working with the experts that know how to do this, and I know Kevin Kiley's up there being a24:08 big advocate. It needs to be merit based. Because, Jody, let's be real. A lot of states are like California. Right? We have some great ones, but we also have some horrific ones who have weaponized the24:20 Department of Education towards districts like ours that are trying to actually educate kids. I think if they do it merit based, it'll be a win for everybody. And I know Kevin's up there advocating for that. I know24:32 others are advocating for that. I am excited about these changes because let's be real. With Doge being put in place, we also know some of that money was being put to watch a mailroom. I mean, there were so many things24:44 discovered that this money could have been going directly to our kids, and and and it's not.24:50 Well, I I think you could it just seems to me common sense. You can never go wrong with merit based leadership in, virtually any area that we were would be discussing, but certainly when it25:02 comes to education as well. And I'm so glad you brought up the direction the depart that education has gone as a whole under the federal Department of Education. It has not been a25:14 good outcome. And so, we were doing fine educationally prior to the Department of Education being created on the federal level, and we'll be okay afterwards. You also mentioned California.25:26 Your governor, I'm sure you're aware of this, he came out saying that this whole thing that president Trump is doing is an overreach, and it needs to be rejected immediately by a coequal branch of government. What25:37 is your response to your governor, really coming out against president Trump on this?25:44 First of all, let's just lay out the facts. Newsom put his kids in private school when he shut down schools here in California for the majority of the children. He also sued our district and other districts for just25:55 wanting parental involvement. So, of course, he's going to be opposed to something that's gonna benefit our children because he's never been, successful at helping our educational system here in California. California26:07 is fortieth in the nation. We are from the federal government, we get about 33000000000 dollars, but yet we're fortieth. What does that show you? They have mismanaged and funneled monies through to the the26:19 lobbyists, the special interest, through these departments, all while failing kids at reading, writing, and math. To me, he is just every time he speaks, he just exposes himself to normal day to day parents like myself26:31 who are getting involved and fighting for the good change here in California. Look. They have been reckless. They've spent money. He's afraid of this because they've weaponized the the federal government and also the26:42 state government. But if you make it merit based, let's be real. Even in California, our district is spending I I wanna say it was 10 to 12000 less per student to a neighboring district, and our test26:54 scores are increasing, and our enrollment is increasing. So even in California, if you manage the money right, you can actually give our kids a great education. Newsom's opposed to great education. He just is in bed with27:05 the the special interest groups, and it's wrong.27:09 Alright. So let's go down that path. As as I understand it and as you mentioned, basically, this dismantling of the federal department of education would redirect funds to the state and local districts, much more27:20 closely. Expound on that if you would a little bit as in terms of what would that look like in practice? How would it impact education?27:29 Yeah. So there's a couple different things. If it does come down to the states, I would be a big advocate. I I'd really just giving it directly to the districts based on merit. But if we have to work on something to get27:41 to that point, I would say give it to the counties. Look. Local control is the best. Right? And if you give it to the counties, they know exactly what is needed and where it's needed, and they can, disperse the money.27:51 The title 1, the title 9, title you know, those monies are gonna still go towards the kids that need it for those specific things. Now if you, look at the bigger picture at putting it back to the states, they can28:03 make it very, very difficult for districts like ours that are actually trying to educate and not indoctrinate. So I would say there's gonna have to be a lot of talks, and I hope that a lot of people are able to come to28:13 the table here in congress to give some insight. I would definitely love a seat at that table with our superintendent by my side because we have a lot of knowledge on how it's how it is to run28:25 here directly a district that is successful even in California. Jody, I think we need to make common sense common again. And right now, they have watered it down, and too many hands are in the pot.28:37 And that's why our kids are failing.28:40 Well, I wanna thank you so much. Sonia, you have been really on the tip of the spear on this issue and so many other issues that the education is in California28:53 is specifically dealing with from LGBT indoctrination and all this stuff. You've been on the front line of so many issues, and you continue to. And I tell you, the the the scales29:05 are tipping in your favor, and we're seeing it from the national level all the way down. And so I just wanna say thank you. God bless you. God speed to you and others who are stepping up. I29:16 know it's not been an easy battle for you, and there's been hundreds of thousands of people praying for you. And, it's all paying off. Thank you so much, Sonia Shaw. God bless29:28 you.29:29 Thank you. I love you guys, and thanks for the prayers. They're definitely needed.Show more In this video 0:00 Trump's Executive Order on Education3:01 Media and Political Dynamics18:32 Local Perspectives on Education Reform29:33 Homeschooling Under Threat in Illinois38:49 Cultural Shifts and Christian Engagement
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